This invention relates to a combination sun screen and pillow for use at the beach, be a swimming pool, or the like. Such devices are known and a representative sample of such devices is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,561,931, issued July 28, 1951, to Emil H. Kleiser Jr.
Devices of this general type typically comprise a pillow, a sun screen, and means mounting the sun screen on the pillow such that, during use of the device, the sun screen shades the face of a person resting his head on the pillow. However, while such devices are known theoretically, so far as I know, none has proved a commerical success. I attribute this apparent lack of commercial success to the fact that none of the prior art devices offered enough to the potential customer, and I have designed my invention to overcome this failing.
It is known in the art to provide means for pivoting the sun screen as a whole about a fixed axis on the pillow to raise or lower it relative to the pillow, and it is known to provide means for pivoting the sun screen about a fixed axis through the sun screen in order to vary the orientation of the sun screen relative to the pillow. However, such means do not permit the use of the device to vary the distance between the sun screen and the pillow, which the user may desire to do, particularly when the basic devise is used in conjunction with the book holding means described hereinafter.
While devices comprising the basic pillow, sun screen, and connecting means are known in the art, such devices are an inconvenience to carry around, and the potential customer may well decide that their inconvenience outweights their advantages if the device is simply a combination pillow and sun screen and nothing more.
The problem suggested in the preceeding are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather are among many which tend to reduce the effectiveness of prior combination sun screen and pillow. Other noteworthy problems may also exist; however, those presented above should be sufficient to demonstrate that such devices appearing in the prior art have not been altogether satisfactory.